VI-grade Supplies MRacing Formula SAE Team with a COMPACT Simulator
Marburg, July 21st, 2015 – VI-grade today announced that the MRacing Formula SAE Team of the University of Michigan has adopted VI-grade's COMPACT Simulator. In detail, the simulator will be used to support chassis and controls development for formula SAE vehicles.
“We have already put in many hours on tuning our VI-CarRealTime model, which creates a significant advantage as we move to the next level: using VI-DriveSim” said Peter Karkos, 2016 MRacing Technical Director. “The main value from the adoption VI-grade's COMPACT Simulator in our team comes from the potential time that will be saved through physical testing of different suspension setups, aero packages, drivetrain packages, etc. In addition, the relatively low-cost of setting up the system is perfect for our situation of being a college race team.”
“The most important feature is our ability to quickly correlate the computer model to our real-life vehicle by having a driver be able to give immediate feedback. It can eliminate months of tedious tests, and will allow for rapid improvements once we have an accurate model” added Karkos. “Additionally, the simulator enables our team to continue to develop the vehicle and have drivers learn how to drive it during the off-season. Due to the weather conditions, there are many months when our team cannot take the vehicle out for testing, so it is crucial to be able to virtually optimize the setup of our racing cars on the simulator in preparation for the upcoming FSAE competitions.”
“We are very excited about our continuous collaboration with the University of Michigan,” said Brian Cheung, Director of System Level Simulation Inc. “Major racing teams in all series are using vehicle simulation of all kinds to increase competitiveness in an environment with less physical testing and demands for more performance, and we are looking forward to further supporting the success of the MRacing team.”
About the COMPACT Simulator
The COMPACT Simulator provides all main features of VI-grade Driving Simulators in a reduced space. It features a driver’s seat, a fully-adjustable steering wheel, dashboard, pedals, gear stick and screen and it can be placed directly in your office. It is the perfect solution for those companies that want to start using a Driving Simulator to boost simulation activities and to test models in real-time whilst getting a subjective feeling.
The COMPACT Simulator from VI-grade is the ideal tool for automotive OEMs that wish to prepare models to be used for a more advanced simulator (both STATIC and DiM) and that need to quickly test specific components. The COMPACT Simulator is also an ideal solution for Tier 1 suppliers who need to make sure that their components will work well when inserted into a more complex vehicle model. This kind of simulator can also be used by universities and research centers to develop and test dedicated control algorithms, as well to expose their students to driving simulator technologies.
About University of Michigan College of Engineering
Founded in 1854, the University of Michigan College of Engineering is one of the premier Engineering schools in the world. The school’s strong partnership with automakers later led to the formation of MRacing Formula SAE in 1986. With over 25 years of experience, the team is able to continually pushing the envelope of vehicle design. In the summer of 2011 the team proved the value of this history by rising to #1 in the world after 6 consecutive top 10 competition finishes. With many of the same engineers still on the team, a newly formed business sector, and new exciting industry partnerships, MRacing is well-equipped to continue succeeding on an international level for the foreseeable future.